Various wild and domesticated animals have feeding behaviors characterized by the swallowing of large amounts or hunks of food rapidly within a short time frame. Some of this behavior may be attributed to instinct, while some of the behavior may be attributed to the particular species, such as the domesticated dog, and the environment in which the animal is fed. Additionally, a domesticated dog or dog that rapidly consumes large amounts of food may be a function of how the dog is fed.
However, problems can arise if food is consumed in such a manner. One problem associated with animals who swallow large amounts of food is the increase in risk that an animal may aspirate on some portion of the food. Aspirating a particularly large chunk of food may completely block the animal's airway, or may cause the animal to uncontrollably cough causing damage to the animal's heart and lungs. In some instances, aspiration can lead to death.
Another medical issue associated with rapid consumption of food, particularly in dogs, is gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV) which is also known as “bloat,” “stomach torsion,” or “twisted stomach.” GDV is an extremely serious condition comprising two parts or phases. The gastric dilatation is one part of the condition and the volvulus or torsion is the second part. In dilatation, due to differing reasons, including swallowing of air, the stomach fills up with air which puts pressure on the surrounding internal organs. The air-filled stomach also compresses large veins in the abdomen, thus preventing blood from returning to the heart. Once filled with air, the stomach can easily rotate on itself, thus pinching off its blood supply. This rotation, or volvulus, causes the stomach to begin to die and the animal's entire blood supply becomes disrupted. Once volvulus occurs, an animal's condition often begins to deteriorate very rapidly, and quite frequently results in death.
In order to prevent such medical events from occurring, it is desirable to reduce the rate at which food is consumed. For some breeds of dogs and other animals, the problem of rapid consumption of food is compounded because the animal, by instinct, may swallow large amounts of food during the course of an ordinary meal. As a result, there are very few training techniques that are available to successfully prevent an animal from acting out on this feeding instinct. There have been some attempts to solve such issues, however, they have been met with tepid results, can be time consuming, and in some instances are not practical given a particular home environment. Thus, there is a need for an apparatus that can serve to adequately regulate or limit the rate at which an animal may consume a food item. The present invention and its embodiments meets and exceeds these objectives.